Defining Proper
by housepotterNCIS
Summary: When Harry finds his aunt dead in the living room, he decides that the last thing he wants is to be sent to an orphanage, and takes matters into his own hands instead, choosing to live with a street boy he knows named Liam. Of course, he didn't expect Dudley to come along. (Takes place in my PWAC universe).
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is set in my Parents with a Cause universe (which can be read about on my profile page), and though it can be read as a stand-alone piece, it would probably be best if you at least read "The Squib" before this one as it introduces the character of Brinley. This universe is a crossover between Harry Potter, NCIS, and House, MD, but as the majority of the characters in this particular story are from Harry Potter, I'm sorting it there. Most of my stories are one-shots, but I realized that it would take rather a lot to introduce Harry, Dudley, and Liam and actually do them justice, so this one will probably be a couple of chapters long. Please REVIEW this chapter, though, and tell me if you like it and if there are particular things that need further clarification. (And, as always, feel free to comment on which situations/characters from the PWAC Universe you'd like to see more of in general). **

Saturday dawned hot and dry. The grass beneath Harry's sneakers all but crunched as he trekked across the neighborhood to the far playground. It was an old wooden playground, and had fallen mostly into disuse since the new playground had been put up six years ago. At first, Harry had gone to this one because he was mostly free from Dudley's gang there. Then, in more recent years, it became even more important that he come to this particular playground.

Harry threw himself onto the one swing that hadn't been completely destroyed, dropping his backpack lightly on the ground beside him. He used his toe to lightly nudge himself back and forth, letting the lightest breeze lick his face even as his hands were torched by the metal chain of the swing set.

There was a rustling sound, and a moment later a small, wiry boy with a narrow face and shaggy black hair darted out from the underside of the jungle gym and sprinted over to the set.

Harry smiled wanly. "Hey, Liam."

"Heya, Harry," the boy replied. He leaned against the pole of the swing set and looked very carefully everywhere but at the backpack on the ground. "How've you been? How's your week been?"

Harry smiled slightly. He grabbed the strap of his backpack, pulled it off the ground, and swung it towards Liam. "Help yourself, mate. I managed a pretty good haul this week."

Liam pulled eagerly at the zipper on the bag and peered inside. "Whoo-ee, Har. You haven't managed a haul like this since Christmas. How'd you manage?"

The smile on Harry's face fell away. "My uncle was in the hospital, actually. Aunt Petunia and Dudley were away most of the week, so it was easy enough."

Liam frowned slightly even as he dug cans of food from the bag and stuffed them into the pockets of his oversized pants. "He okay?"

"He died last night," Harry said. "Something to do with his heart."

Liam took a bite out of a roll Harry'd nicked from the fridge. "Man. That sucks."

Harry shrugged. "Well, he was mostly pants as an uncle."

"Yeah," Liam said. "I suppose that's true enough. Well, anyway, my offer to you still stands. If it all gets to be too much with them…"

Harry shrugged again. "I'm alright, I think. But thanks."

"Thank _you_," Liam said, raising a baggie of grapes to Harry in mock-salute.

Harry slid off of the swing he was on. "Mazal tov."

Liam gave Harry a slightly concerned look. "You're not hanging out?"

Harry sighed. "Not really in the mood today. Rain check?"

"Yeah," Liam said. "Of course."

Harry took his newly emptied backpack from Liam and swung it back over his shoulders.

* * *

Brinley lay on his stomach atop his bed and thumbed through one of Severus's potions journals. In the weeks he'd been at Severus's house, his knowledge of potions had increased tenfold. Unfortunately, Brinley thought as he cast a derisive look at the computer magazine Severus had handed him the night before, so had his knowledge of other things.

There was a light tap on his bedroom door, and Brinley looked up to see Severus standing in the doorway. He was wearing jeans and an oxford shirt, and Brinley bit back a sigh, knowing that Severus only wore Muggle clothes when they'd be seeing his relatives. Honestly, Brinley had chosen to be adopted by Severus, not by the man's entire crazy family.

"Where to this time?" Brinley asked.

Severus frowned disapprovingly. "I need to talk to DiNozzo and Gibbs. You can play with Zach."

"I don't _play_," Brinley said. "Can't I just stay here? The elves can look after me. I only want to read."

"What you can _do_," Severus said, "is grab your jacket and hold your tongue. This family gets enough impropriety with the girl Wilson and House took in."

Brinley rolled his eyes, but he did place a marker in the potions journal he was working on and grab the robe he'd flung over the back of his chair.

"I said grab a _jacket_, not a robe," Severus sneered.

Brinley frowned. "What's it matter? It's not like they don't know about…"

"It _matters_," Severus said, "because you are my ward and I said for you to grab a jacket."

Brinley sighed, but he walked across the room to his closet and pulled out the windbreaker Severus had purchased for him. He scowled as he pulled it on. The material felt all wrong, and it made too much noise for a bit of cloth.

Severus sighed at Brinley's expression. "You have to get used to it eventually, Brinley. When you go to Heigward, robes will only make you stand out."

"That's stupid," Brinley said. "I was raised in a pureblood household. Why can't I act like it? I mean, I thought the whole purpose of this was to increase the understanding between wizards and non-wizards."

"It is," Severus said. "And as your father, I have been tasked with ensuring that _your _understanding is increased."

Brinley sighed, but he zipped the windbreaker up a bit.

* * *

The house was still and silent when Harry walked in through the back door. He frowned slightly. Dudley was always in and out of the house, but he'd expected Aunt Petunia to be home, making arrangements for Uncle Vernon's funeral. He might have thought that she'd left to make arrangements elsewhere, but she never would have left without ensuring there was someone to watch over Harry. She didn't trust him when she wasn't around.

Harry walked across the kitchen to the hallway with the intention of stowing his backpack in his cupboard. In the hallway, though, he paused. Aunt Petunia was lying on the couch, seemingly asleep, but something about the angle she was at seemed off. Harry's grip tightened on his backpack, and he crept into the living room.

There was an empty bottle of antidepressants lying beside Aunt Petunia's prone form. Harry took in a deep breath and forced himself to step closer to her—close enough to feel her breath on him, if she was breathing. Harry didn't feel anything. He swallowed hard, reached forward, and pressed his fingers against her wrist. She felt cold.

Harry stepped away from her. He felt shaky and slightly dizzy. He couldn't bring himself to feel sad about her death, but he felt _something_. Pity, at least, for his cousin. Harry didn't much like Dudley, but in the days since Uncle Vernon's death Dudley had begun to act almost like a human being, and Harry could only imagine how hard it would be for Dudley to lose his mother so shortly after.

But was she dead? Harry knew that doctors could sometimes do amazing things. There were these electric paddle things, and there was stomach pumping, and… Harry stepped towards the telephone, reaching for the receiver. He paused before his hand touched the telephone, though. If she _was _dead, then Harry wanted to get as far from this house as possible. He had no intention of going to an orphanage—between the fear of orphanages the Dursleys had instilled in him over the years and the conversations he'd had recently with Liam, he just _knew _he wouldn't make it in an orphanage—and if he called 112 he'd just be getting the cops to the house faster. On the other hand, if he _didn't _call and she could be saved… well, that was almost as good as killing her himself, wasn't it?

Harry grabbed the phone and dialed 112, and then he set the receiver to the side and went to the cupboard. He'd learned at school that the police could track a number somehow, and they'd send a dispatch car out the moment a number was dialed, so Aunt Petunia was taken care of, and without having to talk to the police himself, Harry had time to get his things together. He jogged over to his cupboard, wrenched the door open, and began filling his backpack with everything he owned.

The back door slammed open, and Dudley's voice called out, "Mum! I'm hungry!"

Harry rolled his eyes. Dudley was always hungry.

"Mum?" Dudley said.

Harry pulled himself out of his cupboard. Dudley was in the kitchen, and for a moment the two boys' eyes met.

"Where you going?" Dudley asked.

Harry frowned. He didn't know how to tell Dudley that his mother was… Harry shook his head. He said, "Your mum took some meds."

"What?" Dudley said, shouldering past Harry. He froze only a few steps into the living room, and when he spoke his voice was so desperate sounding that it pained Harry to hear. "Mum…"

Harry shifted uncomfortably. "I called 112. I'm sure they'll be here soon."

Dudley turned to Harry. "And what about you? What are you doing?"

Harry lifted his chin. "I'm getting out of here."

"What?" Dudley said.

"You heard the way that Uncle Vernon talked about orphanages," Harry said. "Canings and shitty food and no one giving a damn about you? I had it bad enough here, Dud. _That's _certainly not happening to me."

"Where are you gonna go?" Dudley asked.

Harry glanced toward the receiver in the living room, suddenly aware that someone was probably listening in on their conversation. He said, "Let's just say I've got friends in low places." He turned and walked out of the kitchen door.

He'd only made it half a block away when he heard heavy footsteps behind him. He turned to see Dudley running after him, dragging a duffel bag behind him and panting heavily. Harry hesitated only a moment before stopping for Dudley to catch up. He said, "What are you doing, Dud?"

"I'm coming with you," Dudley said. "I don't want to go to an orphanage, either."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Dudley, how are you gonna survive the streets? You can't go five minutes without watching the telly."

"I'll manage," Dudley said. His piggy chin wobbled for a moment, and he sniffed heavily. "Anyway, we took care of you all this time. It's time you took care of me, isn't it?"

Harry wanted to point out that Dudley had never once taken care of Harry—that it had always been the other way around—but somehow it seemed to cruel a thing to say. Instead, he said, "I thought you didn't _like _me."

"I don't," Dudley said. "What's that matter? Mum and Dad didn't like you, either, but they still made sure you didn't starve to death."

That was true enough. Harry sighed and said, "Alright. Fine. You can come with me. Just don't blame me if you can't handle it."

Dudley said, "I can handle it just fine. Anyway, you haven't even seen what I brought with me."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I hardly think your playstation is going to help us."

"I didn't bring that," Dudley said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of bills. "I'm talking about _this._"

Harry stared at the money. "Where'd you get that?"

"Mum's purse," Dudley said. "Dad's wallet. My piggy bank. The ice cream truck money on the back of the counter."

"Dud!" Harry said.

"If she's dead, she won't be able to use it," Dudley said. "Anyway, I left all the cards."

Harry shook his head in disbelief. "That was _smart_, Dud."

Dudley shrugged. "Yeah, well… Anyway, you take it. You're a freak, but for all that, you're probably better at money than I am."

Harry took the bills from his cousin. He turned his backpack around and shoved the bills into the front pocket of his bag. Just as he was zipping the bag up, he heard sirens. Swinging his backpack over his shoulder, he grabbed Dudley roughly by the arm and shoved him behind a bush, tugging him down onto the grass.

"What are you doing?" Dudley asked, pulling his arm away from Harry.

"Do you want to get caught before we even get anywhere?" Harry snapped. "Stay down until they pass." With any luck, the police, knowing they had come from this direction, would start their search for Harry and Dudley elsewhere once they realized they boys were missing.

When Harry was sure that the police were gone, he stood up and held a hand out to Dudley. Dudley stood up, scowling as he brushed the mud from the back of his pants.

"Come on," Harry said. "It's not far from here."

* * *

Just outside the door to the Gibbs-Dinozzo household, Severus stopped and turned to Brinley. He said, "Mind your manners while we're in there."

"Yes, sir," Brinley said.

"And be nice to your cousin," Severus pressed.

Brinley thought about mentioning the fact that he and Zach weren't cousins—wouldn't be, really, even if the adoption went through—but he didn't figure that Severus would take it well. He was tetchy about those sorts of things. So Brinley simply nodded. "I'll behave, sir."

Severus nodded curtly before rapping smartly on the front door.

A moment later, the door opened and Zach's round face poked around it. He smiled at them. "Hey, Uncle Sev! And Brinners—nice to see you again."

Brinley grimaced at the nickname.

Zach said, "You know, Uncle Sev, there's a reason Dad keeps this door unlocked. You _are _allowed to walk in."

"Your father's tendencies aside," Severus said, "I will retain my propriety, and I would be remiss if I taught Brinley anything less."

"Right," Zach said, rolling his eyes. "Sure. Come on, Brin. Papa got my a new video game that I'm dying to try. I'll let you have a go."

"Video game?" Brinley said. He looked at Severus for clarification.

"You'll have to experience that one for yourself," Severus said. "My words would be insufficient to that task."

Brinley sighed, but allowed himself to be dragged up the stairs to Zach's room.

"_This _is your plan," Dudley asked dubiously. "We're gonna hide out in a broken-down old playground?"

"Just shut up a moment, Dudley," Harry said. He looked around the playground, trying to spot a shoelace or the corner of a t-shirt, but as far as he could tell, Liam wasn't around. Harry sighed and dropped tiredly onto the swing. "Look, I told you I had a friend, didn't I? He tends to hang around here, that's all."

"Well, what are we gonna do until he gets back?" Dudley asked.

"Dunno," Harry said. "Hang out, I guess."

"For how long?" Dudley said. "I mean, for Christ's sakes, how long do you think it'll be before the cops find us? We're not all that far from the house."

"We have to wait for my friend," Harry said, his voice sounding more sure than he really felt. "Trust me."

"Why should I trust _you_, Freak?" Dudley asked, but he sat down on the ground at the base of the swing set.

A few minutes later, there was a set of footsteps on the roadside, and then a voice shouted, "Harry? Back already?"

Harry managed the weakest of smiles for Liam as the younger boy jogged across the wood chips. He said, "I've come to take you up on your offer, Liam."

Liam stilled. "Have you now?"

"We ran into a bit of trouble at home," Harry said, gesturing towards Dudley. "My cousin and I. We haven't anywhere else to go."

"Well," Liam said, flashing a cheeky grin at Harry, "Mi casa, su casa. Although of course in this case 'casa' is a bit of a loose term."

Harry swallowed, looking around the playground where Liam tended to live. It was the place where Harry and Liam had first met, and where they'd met each subsequent time. As far as Harry knew, it was the only place Liam really called home. And yet Dudley, for all his idiocy, had struck upon one salient fact: they really weren't very far from home, and it would really be far too easy for the police to find them here.

Harry said, "Do you have any place else you go, Liam? The playground is… well, it's a bit too close to where we come from."

Liam frowned slightly, but then he nodded. "I'm not tied to here, Harry. I didn't even stay here more'n any place else, really, until I met you. I mean, it's just a playground—not a real shelter by any means. There's an abandoned sub shop a few blocks over that's a lot better for a permanent residence. C'mon, I'll show you guys the way."

* * *

Gibbs poured Severus a cup of coffee and slid it across the table to him. He said, "How's Brinley adjusting to your home?"

"He's exceedingly polite," Severus said. "Though I'd expect no less, considering his raise. The Grishams were always…extreme."

"Purebloods," Tony added by way of explanation. He grabbed a piece of pizza from the fridge and pushed half of it down his mouth.

Severus sneered at him. "You know, the wolf might well be the least disgusting member of your family tree."

"Dunno about that," Tony said around a mouthful of pizza. "Jimmy might have him beat."

Gibbs shook his head at Tony. "You realize you're supposed to be a _mentor_ for our son?"

Tony swallowed his mouthful. "Oh, relax. Zach's still upstairs showing Brinley the finer points of _Skyrim."_

Gibbs said, "You'd think a fantasy game would lose its appeal to someone who knows about real magic."

"Why would it?" Tony asked. "Real magic's real, after all. Fantasy is still fantasy."

"And to think," Severus said, "I brought Brinley here under the delusional thought that you might be able to teach him something I could not. How remiss of me. I should have known he'd get a better education talking to a flobberworm."

"We're not teaching him anything," Tony said. "Zach is."

"Yes," Severus said coolly. "And who, exactly, is teaching Zach?"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So, shorter chapter than last time, but I just tend to write until it feels right, so that's how it ends up working. As always, PLEASE REVIEW! I looove reviews. I live for them. I especially live for ADVICE-I want to know what you guys want from me, for situations. Which of my characters do you like? Who do you not care about? Are you reading the other stories in this universe, or do you just like this one in particular. LET ME KNOW! And, of course, please enjoy :)**

The windows to the sub shop were boarded up, but Liam led Harry and Dudley to a basement window on the side where the boards were loose and moveable. Harry slipped easily through the window, landing in a damp, dank basement with patchwork lighting. A moment later, Liam landed beside him.

"Guys?" Dudley's pudgy face appeared in the window. "I… I don't think I'm gonna fit."

"We'll getcha in," Liam said. "Just sit your fat ass down. We'll tug on your legs from down here."

It was a tight squeeze. By the time they'd managed to tug Dudley in through the window, the boy's stomach and arms were scraped to pieces. He sniffled and rubbed at his eyes.

"Don't be a baby," Liam said, rolling his eyes.

Dudley said, "I can't do that every time I have to come in here."

"Don't worry about that," Liam said. "You'll skinny up soon enough and slip through just as easy as Harry and me."

Harry ignored the two of them in lieu of looking around. The basement they were in had, at one point, been a storage unit for the sub shop above. Boxes were piled up in the corner.

"Mostly bags and wrappers in there," Liam said, following Harry's gaze. "C'mon, I'll show you guys around."

Harry and Dudley followed Liam up a set of rickety stairs. The third step up was missing, and Harry jumped it nimbly. Dudley, on the other hand, hesitated when he saw it and said, "Maybe I'd better stay down here."

"Don't be a ninny," Liam said. "The rest of the stairs are fine, as is the floor. 'Sides, it's gross down here. All my stuff's upstairs."

Harry frowned. "How much stuff do you have?"

"Enough," Liam said.

At the top of the stairs, Liam showed Harry and Dudley the loo, a single, one-stall bathroom that had been open for the public.

"It still works," Liam said. "I think probably whoever owns the building pays the bill without much looking at it. I used to worry they'd catch on, but I been here three an' a half years and they aint never come by or nothin'."

Dudley said, "You've been here three and a half years? You look like you're about _five_, mate."

"I'm nine and a half," Liam said. "I ran away from the orphanage I was in just before my sixth birthday. Hopped a train to Langley and then took a bus here."

"You did all that when you were six years old?" Dudley asked.

Harry said, "Yeah, Dud. Right about the same time you were learning the alphabet."

Dudley scowled.

Liam said, "C'mon. I'll show you guys the fridge."

The fridge was a back room, heavily insulated. Liam had food stored back there—most of what Harry had brought him that afternoon, along with some other things Harry didn't recognize.

"There's no electricity running to it, so it doesn't really keep things cold," Liam said, "but no bugs ever manage to get back there, and it's insulated enough that it's not as effected by whatever weather we're getting out here."

"And the rest of this place?" Harry asked.

"It's a sub shop," Liam said. "It might not be warm, but its dry, and it's a safe enough place to store my things."

A greedy glint entered Dudley's eyes then. "What've you got for things?"

"Just stuff I've acquired over the years," Liam said. "Blankets. Clothes. A knife. A couple of books."

Harry said, "Do you have any money?"

Liam frowned. "A bit. Not much."

"We brought some," Harry said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the fistful of bills Dudley had given him earlier. "We should probably combine our funds, yeah?"

Liam nodded. "Yeah. And we'll decide as a group how to spend them."

"What do you mean?" Dudley asked. "Won't we just be spending them on food?"

Liam snorted. "Mate, if we spent money on food every time we wanted to eat, we'd be out of both money and food inside a month."

"So then what will we spend it on?" Dudley asked.

"Clothes, maybe, when winter comes," Liam said. "I buy batteries, sometimes, for my radio."

"Books?" Harry suggested.

"Nah," Liam said. "You can get coverless ones in the dumpsters behind Blackwell's. And you can always hit up the library if you're really desperate."

Harry smiled weakly. "It's quite a life, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Liam said. "It is."

* * *

Severus paused in the doorway to Zach's room and observed the two boys for a moment. Brinley had the controller, and though he was composed, his eyes on the screen were focused and interested. Zach was leaning forward on his toes, pointing at something on the screen and shouting instructions. Looking at them, Severus thought, you wouldn't have known have different their pasts were. You'd just think they were two boys playing video games together.

He sighed and cleared his throat.

Brinley paused the game and turned his head. "Severus. Is it time to leave already?"

"Already?" Severus repeated, his lips twitching. "It's been two hours. Usually you're more than ready to return to your potions journals by now."

Zach laughed. "You're one to talk, Uncle Sev."

"Indeed," Severus said. "Nevertheless, Brinley, it _is _time to go. Tumnus will be having supper ready."

"Yes, sir," Brinley said. He handed the video game controller to Zach. "Thanks for showing me _Skyrim_, Zach. It was fun."

Zach grinned. "Maybe your dad'll get you one for your birthday or something."

Severus said, "I'm sure he'll get plenty of electronic stimulation here, Zachary."

Brinley stood. He grabbed his jacket from the foot of Zach's bed and yanked it on. "What do you suppose we'll have for supper?"

Severus lay a hand on Brinley's shoulder and steered him out of the room. "We'll have to see when we get there."

* * *

"Beans!" Liam announced proudly, pulling two cans out of the fridge. "And Jello, I think, to celebrate new friends."

"Oh, _goody_," Dudley drawled. "And here I thought we'd go hungry."

"Stuff it, Dud," Harry said. He took a can from Liam, hitched his thumb under the tab, and yanked the top off. He tipped the can back and poured a third of the beans into his mouth before passing the can to Dudley.

"We'll have to get food more frequently, with three of us," Liam said, slurping some beans out of his own can before passing it to Harry.

"Where do we get food from?" Dudley asked.

"Usually go dumpster diving after dark," Liam said. "Places that have a lot of people during the day and not so many at night. The park, for example. Can sometimes get okay snack food that way—half a bag of cheetos, maybe, or the tail end of a PB&J. The rest of the stuff you go behind restaurants and grocery stores for. They're required by law to throw out all their expired food, and while I wouldn't recommend the day-old Sushi, for the most part expired food really isn't all that bad."

"Sure," Dudley said sullenly. "Sounds like we'll eat like kings."

"Don't be a prat," Harry said. "You didn't _have _to come. You could have stayed behind."

"Sure I could have," Dudley said. "I've lost my mum and my dad, and now you want me to lose the closest thing I have to a brother?"

"What are you _talking_ about?" Harry asked. "We're not _brothers_. We barely even qualify as cousins."

Dudley's face paled. "What do you mean? Of course we are… we were raised together and everything."

"Raised _together_?" Harry asked. "Did you take a blow to the head? _You _were raised like a little prince, and _I _was raised to be your whipping boy. Do you really think that's how it is in a normal family?"

"Why'd you bring me with you, then?" Dudley asked. "If you don't think we're family."

"You _asked _to come," Harry said. "What the hell was I supposed to do? I know how much it sucks not to have a family. That's how I've lived my whole life. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy—not even on _you_, Dudley."

Dudley swiped the back of his hand across his eyes, and, without another word, turned towards the basement door. "I'm sleeping downstairs tonight."

Liam said, "You haven't even touched your Jello."

"No hungry," Dudley whispered.

The basement door creaked closed behind Dudley.

Liam gave Harry a disapproving look. "That was harsh, mate."

"Yeah," Harry said, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I know."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm sorry to say that there's no Severus/Brinley in this chapter. They'll be back, though, don't worry :) As always, please REVIEW! _Please! _3**

When Harry woke up, it felt as if there were sand in his eyes. He scrubbed at them with the palms of his hands and rolled onto his knees. Liam was lying in the corner on a pallet he'd made of old blankets, drool dripping from his half-open mouth onto his chin. Harry rolled his eyes, grabbed the t-shirt he'd discarded the night before from the floor, and chucked it at Liam's face.

"Huh?" Liam jumped in the air and his eyes roved around wildly. When they landed on Harry, he scowled. "No fair, mate. I thought you were a cop."

"You thought a cop snuck into the house in the middle of the night without you hearing anything?" Harry scoffed.

"Not like I knew where I was," Liam said. "I was asleep, wasn't I?"

Harry sighed. He levered himself off the floor and said, "Imma go talk to Dudley."

"You do that," Liam said. "And before you screw up the relationships we have with him any further, try to remember that this is the best hide-out we have, and we can't afford for your lout of a cousin to go blabbing it to everyone in a tizzy."

"Yeah." Harry sighed. "Okay, I got it."

Liam ambled towards the loo. After a moment, Harry sighed and dragged himself to basement steps. He felt sluggish, which really didn't make much sense. Yesterday hadn't been a physically hard day for him, not compared to some of the days he'd had while living with the Dursleys. Still, it was an effort for him to haul himself down the stairs, and when he did, it was only to find that the basement was empty.

Harry's stomach dropped. He scanned the room, hoping that Dudley was simply tucked behind some box or another, but he knew that it was fruitless. Dudley's duffel bag was on the floor at the foot of the stairs, but there was no Dudley.

Harry approached the basement stairs and called, "Liam!"

"What?" Liam called back.

Harry said, "He's run off."

There was the sound of a door slamming, and then Liam's face appeared at the top of the stairs. "Are you _kidding _me?"

"He's not here," Harry said. "His stuff is, but he's not."

Liam said, "Well, it's not like he'd need his stuff to get the police, is it?"

Harry shook his head. "You don't think…"

"Your cousin spent your entire childhood getting you in trouble with your aunt and uncle," Liam said, "and you don't think he has it in him to rat you out to the cops?"

Harry's mouth went dry. "I… I hadn't thought of it that way."

"We'll have to get out of here," Liam said. "I'll grab the most important stuff from upstairs. Have a look through your cousin's bag and see if he packed anything important."

Harry crouched down next to the duffle, but just as he was reaching for the zipper he heard a noise near the window they'd all come in the night before. Harry looked up, and was surprised to see one of Dudley's sneakers sliding into view in the gap.

Harry said, "Liam."

Liam looked over and let out a low whistle.

"Harry?" Dudley's voice said. "Liam? You guys down here?"

"Dudley!" Harry couldn't help it if his voice came out a bit sharp. "Where the hell have you been?"

"I got breakfast," Dudley said.

Harry snorted. He should have known that would be Dudley's first priority, though he had to admit to some surprise that Dudley hadn't just slipped into the freezer and helped himself. It really seemed more Dudley's style.

Harry said, "You went out to get breakfast?"

"Actually," Dudley admitted, wiggling his body further through the window, "I just went out for a walk. I was having trouble sleeping. But then I found breakfast, and I thought it made sense to bring it in."

Harry finally got up and helped haul his cousin the rest of the way through the window. "I'm surprised you managed to get out alone."

"It was a squeeze," Dudley admitted. "Took me almost half an hour. I thought you guys would find me stuck in the window. But I managed eventually."

When they'd finally pulled Dudley in through the window, they saw that Dudley held a box of donuts.

"Where'd you score that?" Liam sounded impressed.

"It was on top of a car," Dudley said. "Just sitting there, like someone forgot to grab it."

"Brilliant," Harry said.

The boys sat on the basement floor and each grabbed a donut. Dudley had stuffed half of a powdered donut in his mouth, and around the mouthful, he said, "What're we gonna do about school in the fall?"

Liam said, "I haven't been to school in years."

Dudley frowned, and then reached into the front pocket of his jeans and pulled out a crumpled letter. Harry recognized the envelope. He'd gotten about ten of them before Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had allowed him to open one. It was a silly thing—a prank, they'd decided, by some teenagers to make Harry think that he'd been accepted to a fancy private school of magic. Still, whoever had done it had gone through a lot of effort to make Harry believe that the place was real.

Harry stared at the letter for a long moment. "It's just a fantasy, Dudley."

"That's what I thought at first," Dudley said. "How could it be real? But then, why would anyone go to so much trouble over a prank? And even if they did, how would they know when you'd opened it? It wasn't like anyone could see you do it."

Liam said, "What are you talking about?"

Dudley glanced at Harry, and, at Harry's nod, passed the letter to Liam.

Liam flipped the envelope open carefully and extracted the letter. He unfolded it and stared at it for a moment, and then he shook his head and held the letter out to Harry. "I barely got through reception, mate. I mostly just deal with picture books at the library and stuff."

Harry didn't take the letter. Staring at a spot on the floor, he recited, "Dear Mr. Potter. We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July. Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress."

Liam whistled. "That's some letter. You really think it was sent as a prank."

Harry dropped the second half of his donut back into the box. "I think it doesn't matter. Say it _was _real. I could never go, could I? There's a whole list of things I'd need to buy—things we don't have money for. Things we'd never even know how to buy. And we don't know how to send an owl. And anyway, the school would have tuition costs… I think we're better off forgetting the whole thing."

"But it's a school for _wizards_," Liam said. "It's not just, like, regular boring old school. How can you not go?"

"It's not practical," Harry said. "Just leave it alone, okay?"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I don't know that I'm particularly in love with this chapter, but I think it's rather important nonetheless. For those of you who haven't read the other stories in this series, parts of this chapter might be confusing. My story "the squib" goes into more detail about Heigward. Barring that, you can also find information about the universe itself on my profile page. But, um, yeah... Let me know what you think, please :) I really do like reviews. (And hopefully this chapter answers some of the questions I've received in unsigned reviews that I couldn't personally respond to). **

Albus Dumbledore and Lisa Cuddy sat together at a table in his office to discuss the school charter for Heigward, as well as to update their rosters for the coming term. They each had papers spread out in front of them, while between them was a tea service.

"It'll take time to get Heigward really going, I think," Cuddy said. "If it weren't for the program we have going for orphaned and abandoned children, I'd fear we wouldn't have any students at all."

Dumbledore shook his head. "Hogwarts' reputation will spread on to Heigward to some extent, I believe. In any case, we _do _have the PWAC in effect, so it's no matter."

"I'm sure," Cuddy said. "My concern is what happens when the PWAC dies down. You don't have a limitless supply of parents ready to join that cause, Albus, and even if you did, I can't imagine the ministry will have patience with it forever. They've always been wishy-washy about those sorts of things."

"My hope," Dumbledore said, "is that by the time the PWAC dies down, Heigward's reputation will have spread enough in its own right that it will be able to self-sustain."

"Huh," Cuddy said. "Either that, or the existence of Heigward will wind up running Hogwarts right into the ground."

Before Dumbledore could respond to that claim, the floo flared to life and a the head of MLE officer Adonis DeLacey appeared. "Headmaster Dumbledore. Headmistress Cuddy. I've a matter of some urgency to discuss with you, if you've the time?"

Dumbledore inclined his head. "Of course, Don."

DeLacey floo'd fully into the office at that point. He wasted no time in telling Dumbledore and Cuddy what was on his mind. "Two boys have gone missing from Surrey. One of them is a wizard, and the other is his Muggle cousin. From what we can tell from the evidence Muggle law enforcement officers gave us, it seems the wizard found his aunt dead in the living room and decided to run away rather than be sent to an orphanage. It seems his cousin decided to follow him."

Dumbledore's eyes darkened with concern.

Cuddy said, "What can we do to help?"

DeLacey said, "In point of fact, we've managed to locate the boys. My department is keeping an eye on them as we speak."

"Ah," Dumbledore said. "So you're requesting we find room for them post haste so that they don't spend too long in foster care?"

"My department is keeping an eye on them," DeLacey repeated. "They have not, in fact, taken the boys into custody."

Cuddy shook her head. "Why not?"

"Well, for one thing, the wizard—boy by the name of Potter—is completely against the idea of orphanages, and I hardly thought it would endear him to the wizarding world to be put in one right away."

Dumbledore frowned slightly. "Did you say Potter?"

Cuddy shook her head at Dumbledore, thinking that to be the least of their concerns, and turned to DeLacey instead. "For one thing, you said. What's the other thing?"

"The other thing," DeLacey said, "is that the two boys have another housemate. A Muggle orphan, and a friend of Potter's, from what I can tell."

"And?" Cuddy said.

Dumbledore looked at her, a sad smile on his lips. "The deal I made with the ministry said that they would hand matters over to me in concerns to abandoned wizards, squibs, or knowledgeable relatives of wizards or squibs. Undoubtedly, while Potter's friend needs a home as much as he and his cousin do, the ministry would have no qualms about sending him to a regular Muggle orphanage."

"Oh," Cuddy thought.

"On the other hand," Dumbledore said, "Fudge isn't _quite _stupid enough to challenge me if I take the boy in before Wizarding Family Services hears anything about it."

"That was my assessment as well," DeLacey said.

Dumbledore gave DeLacey a cool look. "It may take some time for me to get matters arranged so that they boys can come immediately into custody. How long can you keep an eye on matters?"

"Not _too _long," DeLacey said. "Today, sure. Maybe tomorrow if my teammates are cooperative. After that, my superiors will wonder why we haven't reported back on the matter."

"Lisa and I will make sure we have the matter well in hand by tomorrow midday," Dumbledore said. "Will that suffice?"

DeLacey nodded.

* * *

Liam's hands were over Harry's eyes. They were soft, Harry realized, and smelled like playground dirt. It was actually a comforting scent, and for a moment Harry let himself relax into the smell. Then he heard the sound of Dudley's heavy footsteps and light panting, and a clink as something was set on the floor in front of him.

"Ready?" Liam asked.

Harry nodded.

A moment later, Liam's hand were removed from Harry's eyes, and Harry was looking down at the last donut from the box Dudley had nicked three days ago. This one was a jelly donut, set in the center of the lid of an old pot. One of Harry's toy soldiers had been placed in the middle of the donut like a candle, and around the donut the other two had painstakingly written the words "Happy Birthday Harry" in peanut butter.

"Woah," Harry breathed.

Dudley said, "Make a wish, Harry."

Harry closed his eyes at the command. He didn't know what to wish for, not really. As strange and sad as it was, the days since Aunt Petunia's death had been some of the happiest days Harry had known. In that moment, however, Harry thought of the letter Dudley had brought with him—the letter that even know lay folded up in the front pocket of Harry's backpack—and he wished with all his might that Hogwarts _was _a real place, and that he could really go.

Harry opened his eyes again, and he flashed a smile at Dudley and Liam. "Thanks, guys. This means a lot."

Dudley reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out two Jellos. He handed one to Liam, and they ate Jello while Harry worked on the donut. When they were done, Dudley carried the trash to the can and brought the pot lid to the loo to wash. Harry, meanwhile, fetched a book from his backpack and continued the job he'd been doing the past few days of improving Liam's reading. After all, Harry was no teacher, but he did believe in education, and he couldn't believe that Liam would have no need to read when he got older.

* * *

Dumbledore wasn't expecting, when he floo'd into Severus's sitting room, that the man would be having visitors. It was just as well, he supposed, as his eyes landed on Tony and Gibbs. He'd already decided back in his office that it would be too much to expect Severus to take in all three boys—not so soon after he'd taken in Brinley—but at the same time, Dumbledore believed he'd be remiss in not mentioning this particular runaway to Severus. In point of fact, Dumbledore didn't think Severus would forgive him if that ever came to light.

"Headmaster," Severus said coolly. "To what do I owe the honor?"

Dumbledore ignored the touch of sarcasm in Severus's tone. It was not long until the full moon, and he knew how much of a strain it was for Severus to brew the potion for his niece and brother-in-law. Instead of mentioning any of that, Dumbledore merely seated himself near the fire. He said, "I trust the boys are currently entertained?"

Tony wrinkled his nose. "Well, we're not making them play fifty-two pick-up if that's what you're asking."

Gibbs reached over and smacked Tony on the back of the head. "Don't be an idiot."

"Indeed," Severus said. "I rather think the headmaster was making sure we're not about to be interrupted."

Tony's eyes widened. "Oh."

Gibbs frowned. "Zach isn't really in the habit of eavesdropping, I don't think, but…"

Severus grabbed his wand from the table and warded the door. "We'll be able to hear if they knock or if something happens, but they won't be able to hear us. And so?"

Dumbledore nodded at Severus in acknowledgement, and then he said, "Severus, if I say the name Potter to you, does it ring any bells?"

Severus's left hand clenched. "You know it does."

"Hmm." Dumbledore's voice was non-committal. "Well, it might interest you to know that ministry law enforcement officers have located three run-away boys and are offering them to use for the PWAC program. One of these boys happens to be an eleven-year-old by the name of Harry Potter."

Severus's face paled. "I thought… I _asked _for custody of him after Lily died, damn it! I was told that his Muggle relations had precedence."

"His Muggle relations are now dead," Dumbledore said.

Severus said, "I want him."

"I can't think that it would behoove your relationship with Brinley for you to bring three new children into the fold," Dumbledore said.

"Albus, _please_." There was a raw note in Severus's voice. "I loved her…"

A light smile tinged Dumbledore's lips. "Of course. I was merely suggesting that it might be prudent for the other two boys to be sent to live in a different household. A household close enough that Harry would still see them regularly, of course, but one which would relieve you from the unnecessary hassle of forcing your newly adopted son to compete with two many other children all at once."

Tony and Gibbs exchanged looks.

Tony said, "We'll take the other two."

Dumbledore smiled. "Will you really?"

Gibbs said, "We've had Zach a number of years. He's secure enough with us, I think, that it will be okay to bring a couple more children in."

Tony nodded. "He's good with kids, too. I think he might like having some brothers."

Dumbledore smiled and clapped his hands. "That's settled, then. I leave the three of you to your nights. Do pass on hellos to Zachary and Brinley for me."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry it's been a while, guys. Got busy with school. **

As far as birthdays went, Harry's eleventh birthday hadn't turned out half bad. In fact, Harry might go so far as to say it was one of his better birthdays. He'd never had a birthday cake, at least as far as he could remember, which made the stale donut Liam and Dudley had presented him with a vast improvement. More than that, however, Liam and Dudley had made a point of honoring Harry's birthday—of marking it in some way—and that meant a lot. It really did.

Liam had even slipped out of the sub shop later that night and returned with leftover pasta and rolls from behind an Italian restaurant he knew of. It wasn't often good, Liam said, to steal from restaurants—the chefs were apparently touchy about such things—but once again, it was something special Liam was willing to do to celebrate Harry.

That night, Harry lay on the floor of the sub shop with his head on his backpack and one of Liam's blankets thrown over the top of him, and he stared up through the darkness. Dudley was already asleep, snoring loudly, but Harry could tell from the way that Liam was shifting around that the younger boy was still awake.

Harry whispered, "Liam?"

"Yeah, Harry?" Liam whispered back.

Harry trailed his fingertip along a crack in the floor. "When's your birthday."

Liam was silent for a long time—so long, in fact, that Harry thought the boy wouldn't answer, or perhaps that he'd dozed off. At long last, however, Liam said, "January 13th."

"Oh," Harry said.

It wasn't long before Harry heard the sounds of light snoring that meant Liam had fallen asleep as well. Harry himself couldn't bring himself to fall asleep, though. Harry rolled over and dragged his Hogwarts letter from the front pocket of his backpack, where he'd tucked it earlier that week. He trailed his fingertips across the broken seal and allowed his mind to wander. What if Liam and Dudley were right? What if Hogwarts _was _real?

* * *

Severus sat down at the foot of Brinley's bed. He'd tried, all through dinner, to breach the subject of bringing another child into the family, but somehow he'd been unable to bring the words to his mouth. It was impossible to tell how the boy would take the news, but more than that, Severus feared that he wouldn't _know _how Brinley felt. The boy was so used to holding his own council—much like Severus himself, in fact—and Severus feared he would hold his own in this as well. Now, however, Severus knew that he really must explain the matter. Albus would be bringing the children by tomorrow, and Brinley really deserved warning.

"Son…" Severus began.

Brinley frowned. He knew, of course, that Severus was trying to adopt him formally—heck, he'd taken on the man's name—but for all that, he wasn't yet ready to call Severus his father, and he wasn't sure how he felt about being called the man's son.

"I was in love once," Severus said quietly. "Have I ever mentioned it?"

Brinley swallowed. He traced the pattern in his quilt for a moment, and then shook his head. "No, sir."

"I was," Severus said. "I was painfully, madly in love in my youth to a woman named Lily Evans."

"Was she your wife?" Brinley asked.

"No." Severus smiled sadly. "No, she wasn't."

"Why not?" Brinley said.

Severus smiled. "Just because you love someone doesn't mean you're ready to get married."

Brinley thought about that a moment and then nodded.

Severus said, "She eventually did get married. She married a man named James Potter, and they had a son."

"I'm sorry," Brinley said quietly.

Severus laid his hand on Brinley's ankle and squeezed lightly. "I'm not telling you this out of regret, Brinley. I'm… I'm quite pleased with the way my life has turned out. I'm proud to call you my own."

Brinley ducked his eyes to his lap.

"Unfortunately," Severus said, "several years ago, Lily and her husband passed away."

Brinley said, "Oh."

"Her son went to live with her sister in Surrey," Severus said. "However, just this week it was determined that he was once again orphaned."

Brinley blinked. "That's…unfortunate."

Severus inclined his head. "Quite."

Brinley watched the man for a moment. "You're gonna take him in, huh?"

"I'd like to," Severus said. "Yes. I'd quite like to. But I'm well aware of the situation you faced with your biological parents, and I don't want you to think that I will…"

"Like the other kid more and lock me in an attic?" Brinley finished.

Severus smiled sadly. "It's more than unfortunate that you had to suffer that misfortune."

Brinley's jaw tightened slightly. "I…yeah."

"Brinley…" Severus said quietly.

"You know," Brinley said, "Mother and Father—my biological mother and father—they were fine when my little brother was first born. They weren't… It didn't change until last year, when my Hogwarts letter didn't come."

"They shouldn't have changed at all," Severus said.

Brinley shook his head. "That's not my point. My point is… Look, it's not like I don't think a parent can take care of two kids at a time. I'm sure they can. My parents just… Well, I mean, it's clear that for some reason _you _don't care that I don't have an ounce of magical power. So I guess it's okay, you know?"

Severus smiled and patted Brinley's foot. "Thank you."

* * *

_Harry was very small. He was sitting, but he was moving at the same time. After a moment, he realized with a flush of embarrassment that he was being pushed along in a pram. He boosted himself up, trying to get a view of the street he was being pushed along. It was a city of some sort; he wasn't sure which one. _

_The pram was turned, and Harry found himself facing a dilapidated pub squashed between two much larger buildings. The door squeaked as it was pushed open, and Harry felt the pram catch on the doorway for a moment, and then he was through the door. The pub was dim, and half-filled with the weirdest looking people Harry had ever seen. _

_A bent-over bartender said, "Lily. James. I wasn't expecting you guys today."_

_Behind Harry, he heard a male voice said, "It felt like high time for Harry to experience London."_

"_Going into Diagon Alley, then?" the bartender said. _

"_Of course," the voice said. _

_Harry was wheeled outside, behind the bar, to a patch of grass with a beat-up trash can slouching against the wall. A moment later, the wall split apart and folded in on itself, becoming a great arch, and behind the arch was a street larger and more wonderful than anything Harry could have imagined on his own. _

"_Diagon Alley!" the male voice announced. _

_A female voice added, "We have to stop by Gringotts. You did bring the key, didn't you, James?"_

"_Harry has it," the man said. _

"_Harry…? James, you can't give a key to an infant!" _

"_Oh, relax," the man said. "I gave him an emergency bracelet. There's a key attached to it. Frankly, I think every kid should have one."_

Harry woke up. His heart was racing in his chest, but he couldn't figure out why. The dream he'd been having hadn't been _bad_, after all—just a bit weird. He sighed and carded a hand through his hair. The dream had been really weird. A key attached to an emergency bracelet?

Harry couldn't help himself; he ran his fingers over his wrists automatically. His right hand located the old scar on his left wrist. It had been there for as long as he could remember, a pale, V-shaped scar so white and faded that most people wouldn't have noticed it at all. It had been there for as long as Harry could remember. Now, however, feeling it, there was something funny about it. Something…

He frowned, bit his lower lip, and dug at the scar with his fingernails. He expected to feel a bit of pain, but instead, something shimmered on his wrist for a moment—an outline, about the size of a watch strap, all the way around his wrist, but clear and somewhat intangible. Harry's jaw dropped.

"Liam!" Harry shouted. He grabbed the flashlight near his bed and flipped it on. "Dudley!"

"Harry?" Dudley asked.

Liam said, "You okay, mate?"

Harry frowned. When he'd called out to the other two, he'd let go of the old scar. The wrist band had faded back into non-existance. Now, his arm just looked like an arm… And yet he was sure that he hadn't imagined it. He said, "We have to go to London."

"London?" Liam asked. "What for?"

"We just do," Harry said. "C'mon. _Right now_. Right this second."

Dudley said, "We can't just up and go to London, Harry."

Liam laughed. "Heck, why not? We don't have anything better to do."

"Why London, though?" Dudley said. "Why can't we just stay here? I'm comfortable here."

Harry rubbed at his forehead, trying to sort through his thoughts. "I just… I feel like that's where we need to be. Does that make any sense?"

"Nope," Liam said cheerfully. "But I'm game."

Harry raised his eyebrows at Dudley.

Dudley sighed. "Do I have a choice?"

Harry kept staring at his older cousin. The last thing that he needed was for Dudley to complain the entire trip to London about how it was a waste of time.

Finally, Dudley growled, "Yeah, okay. I'm game, too. But… do we really have to go right now?"

Liam stood up and started to roll up his blankets. "Better now than later, I'd wager. We can sleep on the train."


	6. Chapter 6

Brinley woke up early, when the sun was just beginning to peak through the curtains of his bedroom. Today was the day—the day when he'd get his new little brother. Despite what he'd said to Severus the day before, he _was _nervous about the situation. Severus might not care about Brinley's magical abilities, but there might be something else that he did care about—something Harry could do that Brinley couldn't do. Brinley knew how fickle parents could be—his own parents had become completely consumed with Coulter and had ignored Brinley altogether with.

It wasn't as if Brinley could do anything about it. Sure, Severus had talked to him about it the night before, but Brinley wasn't in a position to tell Severus not to take in another kid—not when it was Severus's generosity that had kept Brinley out of an orphanage—or worse—in the first place.

Brinley pulled on a pair of slacks and a starched shirt. Harry had been raised by muggles, after all, and if Severus insisted that Brinley wear muggle clothes when they went to visit Zach he'd definitely think it was necessary when they went to pick Harry up for the first time. The last thing Brinley wanted to do was make Severus cross with him before they even collected Harry. He preferred to hold onto Severus's high estimation of him for as long as possible.

Not that it would last.

"My feet are getting tired," Dudley whined.

Harry rolled his eyes at the older boy, though if he were to be honest, his feet were beginning to ache as well. The subways hadn't been running when they'd left the night before, but since they were already packed and ready to go, Liam had suggested they walk as far as they could until things started up. They'd been walking all night long.

Liam was as pleasant as ever. He brushed a lock of hair out of his face and said, "Don't worry. The next train station is only half a mile from here. We can hop a train just as it's coming out of the station."

Harry shook his head. "How do you know that?"

"I used to travel all over," Liam said. "Before we met."

* * *

There was a knock on the front door.

"Brinley," Severus called from the dining room. "Do you mind getting that?"

Brinley frowned. "Why do we even _have _house elves, Severus?"

"Brinley!" Severus's voice was sharp.

Brinley winced. Severus hated it when Brinley treated house elves like—well, like house elves. Brinley didn't understand it, but within his frist week here he'd known better to deride them in front of Severus. He wasn't sure why he'd done so this morning. He supposed he was simply feeling out of sorts.

"I've got it," Brinley said. He laid his hand on the knob of the door for a moment and then pulled the door open. Uncle Tony and Uncle Leroy were standing on the other side of the door, with Zach between them. Brinley bit back a grimace and said, "Hello. Please come in."

Zach grinned and bounced through the door. "Excited, Brinners? You're gonna be a big brother!"

"I already am a big brother," Brinley said. "Or… I mean, I was. I have…_had_… a little brother named Coulter. When I was living with my biological parents, I mean."

"Oh," Zach said. "Were you joined at the soul?"

Brinley wrinkled his nose and looked up to exchange an exasperated look with Zach's fathers. To his surprise, though, Tony seemed completely oblivious, and Gibbs was looking down at Zach fondly. Brinley shook his head. This family was nuts.

"Brinley?" Zach asked.

Brinley's jaw tightened. He said, "No. We weren't _joined at the soul_."

Zach frowned.

Brinley shook his head and turned away. Over his shoulder, he said, "Severus is in the dining room, I believe."

* * *

"It's easy," Liam said. "Really. There's nothing to it."

Harry stared at the train tracks dubiously. Jumping onto a moving train didn't sound easy to him—and if it wasn't easy for him, it sure as hell wouldn't be easy for Dudley.

Dudley seemed to realize that as well. "Can't we just buy tickets? We have that money that I took from the house—and you already said that we can't spend it on food."

"We shouldn't spend it on train tickets, either," Liam said. "Who knows when we're going to need money?"

"We need money now," Harry said. "Look, you may be comfortable jumping on and off trains, but Dudley and I aren't. I really don't want to get one of us killed because we're too cheap to buy train tickets."

"It's not just that we're too cheap," Liam said. "There's also the fact that no one is going to sell three train tickets to London to a couple of kids."

Dudley grinned. "Let me do the talking. I'm good at talking people into doing what I want them to do."

Severus poured tea for himself and DiNozzo and then, sneering slightly, poured a cup of coffee for Gibbs. Personally, Severus couldn't abide coffee—far too dark and bitter, like drinking poisoned river water. On the other hand, Gibbs was one of the more respectable members of Lupin's family—and Severus's family by extension—and Severus couldn't bring himself to do anything more than sneer.

Zach wandered into the room, dragging a hand through his hair. "Hey, Uncle Sev."

"Good morning, Zach," Severus said. "Are you excited about today?"

"More excited than Brinley, I think," Zach said.

Severus frowned. Concern darkened his eyes. "What did he say?"

Zach shrugged and threw himself into one of the dining room chairs. "Just that he's already been a brother before."

Gibbs gave Severus a meaningful look. "He seemed upset when Zach asked if Brinley and Coulter had been attached at the soul."

Severus frowned and tapped his lower lip. He knew that Gibbs had used the phrase to explain sibling loyalty to Zach back when their family was first moving to England. Zach hadn't understood why Tony wanted to be near his brothers. Severus himself had reiterated the statement when talking to Zach about Celia… Of course, Severus knew that Brinley's relationship with his younger brother hadn't been the greatest, but for him to actually be adverse to questions on the subject… He hadn't expected that.

Gibbs caught Severus's eye. "He'll adjust. He just needs to see that you won't behave the same way that…"

"Careful," Severus said, shooting a meaningful look to the door. Brinley's parents had treated him abominably, but for all that, there was a part of Brinley that was still intensely loyal to them. It would hurt him to hear his new family badmouthing his biological family.

The floo flared to life just then and Dumbledore came through. His blue eyes were glistening pleasantly. "Gentlemen. How are you doing today?"

"Fabulous," Severus drawled.

Tony rolled his eyes and punched Severus in the shoulder. He said, "Are the kids packed and ready to go?"

Dumbledore frowned. "Not exactly."

"How much longer do they need?" Zach asked. "Are they saying goodbye to their friends at the orphanage?"

"They're not in an orphanage," Dumbledore said gently.

"Well, wherever they are," Zach said, shrugging.

Dumbledore lowered himself into a chair. "In point of fact, they're in an abandoned sub shop."

Severus's hand tightened on his tea cup. "They're _what_?"

Dumbledore raised his hands in a gesture of peace. "They're being well looked after. The ministry is keeping watch."

Gibbs snorted. "The ministry. Sure."

Tony added in a sarcastic voice, "I've never seen an undercover op go wrong. Not once."

"An undercover op?" Dumbledore said. "This isn't an MCIS case. It's just a couple of children who are afraid of going to an orphanage. I thought that we'd have more of their support if we didn't force them to go into one against their will…"

"Orphanages are no fun," Gibbs said, "but I _think _they could have managed for a night while we got their rooms together. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"_Jethro_!" Tony said. He pressed a hand to his partner's forearm.

Gibbs sighed and ran a hand through his thinning hair. He shot a look in Zach's direction. "Change of plans, buddy."

"We're not adopting?" Disappointment laced Zach's tone.

"We are," Tony said, shooting Gibbs a look.

"Of course we are," Gibbs confirmed. "But I don't think we're going to bring you with us to pick your new brothers up. If they haven't even been told they're getting adopted, things could become…unpredictable."

"Oh," Zach said. "Like they might be upset or something. Right."

Tony said, "Let me floo Remy and see if he can take you."

"Can't you floo Uncle Greg and Uncle Jimmy?" Zach said. "Only, the full moon was just two days ago and Celia might still be kinda grumpy. 'sides, I'm guessing Brinners is gonna need to come too, right? He gets along okay with Simon."

Tony exchanged a look with Severus. It was no secret that Severus didn't approve of House and Wilson's daughter, and Tony was sure that Severus didn't want Brinley spending any more time with her than necessitated by normal family gatherings. To his surprise, however, Severus merely gave him a wary nod.

"Go collect Brinley, please," Severus said to Zach.

Zach nodded and scampered out of the room.

* * *

Dudley sauntered back to the bench where Liam and Harry were waiting, three train tickets clutched in his pudgy hand.

"How the hell…" Liam muttered.

Harry shrugged. "Like he said, he's good at talking people into things."

"I told them we were travelling to see our dad," Dudley said. "Children of divorced parents. Not really a big deal."

Harry grabbed a ticket out of Dudley's hand. "You know, Dud. You're not completely useless."

"Thanks." Dudley dropped onto the bench, making it groan. "You're still a total freak."

Liam said, "At least he can fit through a window without cutting his stomach to pieces."

* * *

The neighborhood that they wound up in was typically muggle. It wasn't far from the neighborhood where Severus had grown up, in fact, and it was hard not to sneer. Dumbledore walked at the front of the group, his stride more graceful than should have been allowed for a man his age. Trailing barely behind the man, Severus's movements were much jerkier. Ever since he'd heard that Dumbledore had left the boys alone in a sub shop, his gut had been twisting itself in knots. Judging by the looks on Tony's and Gibbs's faces, they were feeling the same way.

Dumbledore suddenly paused outside of a squashed building that didn't look much different than any of the surrounding buildings, except for the fact that this one was boarded up. A crooked sign over the door read _Larry's Subs._

"They're in there?" Gibbs asked.

A previously invisible man stepped into sight. He said, "They went in around 9 last night. My men have been watching the place all night."

Severus stepped forward and pulled the boards from the door. The coming conversation was going to be awkward at best, he realized, but he was never one to shy from a difficult conversation. In any case, ever since he'd heard that Harry was to be his son, he'd been anxious to see the boy. Would he look like Lily? Would he smell like her, or sound like her, or carry her kindness in his heart?

In the end, it didn't matter. He burst into the sub shop, Gibbs and DiNozzo close on his heels, only to find the place completely empty. Severus froze. His left hand curled into a fist.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs said quietly, jerking his head in a silent gesture that Severus didn't understand.

DiNozzo and Gibbs silently padded through the building. It took Severus a moment to realize that they were using their MCIS training to check the house for the children, as if they might have secreted themselves away in a cupboard in the zero seconds it had taken Severus to enter the building.

Severus didn't help them look the building over. He trusted their thoroughness, but more than that, he felt in his gut that the kids weren't here. He turned instead on Dumbledore. "What are you playing at, old man?"

Dumbledore looked pale. He turned to the man who'd appeared when they got there. "DeLacey?"

DeLacey shook his head. "I'll talk to my men."

A few minutes later, DiNozzo and Gibbs came back up the stairs shaking their heads.

"Looks like they're gone for good," DiNozzo said. "Most of their stuff is missing."

"How can you tell?" Severus asked. "How can you possibly know what they had for stuff to begin with?"

"Dust marks," Gibbs explained. "This place hasn't been cleaned in a long time."

DeLacey came in the door looking furious. "The _idiot _I had watching this place last night fell asleep!"

DiNozzo shook his head. "I told you. Stake outs are dangerous and unpredictable. I should know."

"Yeah?" Gibbs said. "You ever fall asleep while on a stake-out."

DiNozzo's eyes widened. "No. Never, Boss."

Severus pressed his lips together and spun on his heel. He walked outside, feeling furious. He was sure that it wouldn't be hard to locate the boys—how far could three boys _get?_—but it shouldn't have been a problem at all, damn it.

A shouted "Ow!" came from behind him. He turned to see DiNozzo rubbing at the back of his head.

DiNozzo glared at Gibbs. "What was that for?"

"For calling me Boss," Gibbs said. "You don't work for me anymore."

"Yeah," DiNozzo said. "Well, I'm hardly about to call Dumbledore boss when he can't even manage to babysit our kids for a night, am I?"

"Don't be an idiot," Gibbs said.

Unperturbed, DiNozzo added, "Besides, you didn't seem to mind me calling you Boss the other night."

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked.

Severus's upper lip curled. "As much as I'd love to stand around and hear more about your trysts, our children are in fact _missing_."

DiNozzo nodded. His face turned suddenly more serious. "I know. Trust me, I do. I just…"

"He acts like a complete idiot when he's nervous," Gibbs said. "He always has."


	7. Chapter 7

Dudley reached over and shook Harry's arm lightly. "C'mon, freak-a-zoid. We're almost to London now."

Harry yawned and scrubbed at his eyes. He'd gotten almost no sleep the night before, and the moment they'd gotten on the train he hadn't been able to help but nod off. Even now, his eyes felt caked with sand. His fingers went to that scar at his wrist again, though, and he knew he had to keep going.

"Is Liam awake?" Harry asked, peering over his cousin's head.

Dudley said, "He went to the loo."

To wash up, probably, Harry thought. Liam was one of the dirtiest kids Harry had ever seen, but it wasn't for lack of trying. He was always washing up whenever they went anywhere, or at least pretending at it. Frankly, Harry didn't understand the point. No one would mistake Liam for a well-kept kid.

The train began to slow down. Harry frowned, looking over Dudley's head towards the back of the train car. "He'd better hurry up. We'll be there soon."

"He'll make it," Dudley said. "Hah. If he doesn't he'll just jump off the back while the train's still moving. Can't be any harder than jumping on."

Harry glared at his cousin. Just then, however, Liam emerged from the bathroom, wiping sopping hands on his jeans. Harry rolled his eyes. The kid was still filthy.

* * *

Severus crouched outside the foundation of the sub shop and glared down at the scuffed marks in the dirt by the window. According to Gibbs, that was the way the boys had slipped out. DeLacey's people had confirmed the fact that was the way the children had been seen getting in and out in the preceding days. The fact that none of the ministry workers seemed perturbed that three children were sneaking in and out of an abandoned building through a basement window only served to fuel Severus's anger at the entire situation.

A few feet away, DiNozzo was on the phone with Wilson. He was saying, "Just tell the boys we're running late. There's no need to give them any details at this point; you'll only worry them unnecessarily."

Severus rolled his eyes. It wasn't as if the boys wouldn't find out the truth eventually. They'd be bringing these kids home, after all, and children tended to talk even if they were instructed not to. Frankly, Severus didn't understand why Gibbs and DiNozzo tried so hard to shelter Zachary from the bad things in the world. They knew, perhaps better than anyone, the challenges Zach would face later in life. Wouldn't it be better to prepare him for it now by teaching him to accept challenges?

Severus turned suddenly on the inept ministry worker. "Where are they?"

"I'm sorry," DeLacey said. "He hasn't one any magic. As long as he doesn't, we can't Trace him."

Severus growled under his breath.

Gibbs laid a hand on Severus's forearm. "Don't worry, Sev. Tony and I have plenty of practice with this sort of thing."

Severus snorted and turned away.

* * *

"Alright, Harry," Liam said, grinning up at him expectantly. "What now?"

Harry frowned and glared around the city. The streets seemed similar to the ones he'd seen in his dream, but none of the stores nearby were the exact ones from his dream. He certainly didn't see the little pub he'd dreamed about. Harry scratched the back of his wrist and twisted his lips.

Dudley glared at him. "You don't know, do you?"

Harry's jaw tensed. He said, "I _know_. At least, I think I do…"

Liam and Dudley both stared at him.

"I'll know it when I see it," Harry said. "C'mon. This city can't be _that _big."

"Hah," Liam said. "It's _London_. It's huge.

* * *

Gibbs snapped his cell phone closed. "Three boys matching their descriptions bought train tickets this morning."

"To where?" DiNozzo asked.

Gibbs frowned. "London."

"That's hours from here," Severus said.

DiNozzo said, "Do we have time to head them off at the station?"

"The train got to London about twenty minutes ago," Gibbs said.

Severus scowled—that was just their luck—but then forced himself to give a curt nod. "At least it's somewhere to start."

"It's curious, isn't it?" Dumbledore asked.

Severus glared. Dumbledore had gotten them into this mess; the last thing any of them needed now were his stupid riddles.

"That they should go to London," Dumbledore clarified. "There is, I think, only one place in London that would hold interest for a wizarding child."

"Diagon Alley?" DiNozzo said. "You think they went there?"

Severus snorted. "Please. Leaving aside the fact that only _one _of the boys is a wizard, how would they even know about Diagon Alley? Harry was a toddler when Lily and James passed."

"Unless his aunt said something to him about it," Gibbs suggested. "The Hogwarts letters are already out, aren't they? Maybe she mentioned taking him there to shop for his school things."

* * *

"I'm hungry," Dudley said.

Harry rolled his eyes. "You're _always _hungry, mate."

Liam shook his head. "Nah. This time he's right. I mean, _I'm _hungry, too."

"Well, you've got the money," Harry said, nodding at Liam. "Go buy sandwiches or something if you're hungry."

"I've told you before, it's stupid to waste money on food," Liam said. "Can't we just take a break to get some food and rest? I mean, you don't even know where we're _going,_ Harry."

"I'll know it when I see it," Harry said again. He felt like he'd said that phrase a hundred times since they'd gotten there. Maybe he had.

"It's been hours, mate," Liam said quietly. "How much longer are we gonna go on?"

Harry opened his mouth to reply, but just then they went around the corner and he saw it: the pub from his dreams. A crooked sign over the top of it read _the Leaky Cauldron_. Harry grinned and pointed. "There! Right there!"

Dudley squinted in the direction Harry was pointing. "Starbucks? Harry, we've passed like a hundred of those since we've been here."

"What?" Harry shook his head. "No, next to the Starbucks."

"You wanna go to a boutique?" Liam said. "That's a bit poofy, Har. Not that I'd care or anything, but it's also way out of our price range."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Not the boutique. _Between _the two, you dimwits."

"_Between_," Dudley repeated.

Liam shook his head. "Mate. There isn't anything in between."

Harry stared at the pub from his dreams. It was there, a solid building as plain as anything. He turned from Dudley to Liam and back again, sure they were screwing with him. "You… you guys can't see that? The pub?"

Their expressions remained blank—and Dudley, at the very least, was not that good an actor.

* * *

Tony stirred his tea with the handle of his spoon and checked his watch for the hundredth time since he'd been here. He felt so useless, sitting in the pub like a complete dolt while Gibbs and Severus were out looking for the kids. Of course, he'd always felt useless during stakeouts, even though Gibbs insisted that they were one of the more important roles in an assignment. He was an active man, damn it. He wanted to be _doing _something.

All he was doing now was observing the pub, waiting in case by some miracle the boys managed to stumble in. It seemed more than a little unlikely to Tony. At first, it hadn't been a bad idea to check around Diagon Alley for them, but enough time had passed by now that Tony felt sure the boys had come to London for some other reason. The novelty of it, perhaps…

Just as Tony was ready to give up, call Gibbs, and tell him that he was sure the boys weren't coming, the door to the pub jingled. Tony turned to see three boys step through the door, holding hands. The one in the front was a scrawny boy with messy black hair and green eyes. The two boys trailing him—one fat boy and one teensy, long-haired devil—both looked absolutely terrified, but once they stepped through the door they're fear seemed to adjust and they relaxed slightly. Muggles, Tony decided, remembering his own first entrance into the Leaky Cauldron. The anti-muggle wards on the place made coming into it anything but pleasant for non-magical persons.

"This is amazing," the littlest of the three boys whispered under his breath.

The fat boy said, "How'd you know this place was here?"

"I…" The green-eyed boy shook his head. "I had a weird dream about it."

Tony pressed the speed dial on his cell phone to summon Gibbs, and then he stood up and approached the three boys. He crouched down in front of them and said, "We have been looking everywhere for you."

Three sets of terrified eyes landed on him. The youngest one took a couple of steps backward.

"I wouldn't if I were you," Tony said, nodding at the door. "This place is surrounded by cops."

The small boy paled. He shot the green-eyed boy a glare. "Some dream, Harry. You went and got us in trouble!"

"I'm sorry," Harry replied. "I didn't mean to."

Tony raised his hands up in a gesture of peace. "No one's in trouble here, boys. We just can't have you living on the streets."

The littlest boy snorted. "Good luck with that. I'm not going back to any putrid orphanages. I'll just run off again, y'hear?"

"No one's going to orphanages, either," Tony said.

"Oh, no." The fat boy shook his head and gave Harry a horrified look. "_Aunt Marge_."

"Aunt Marge wouldn't take Liam," Harry said. "Or me, for that matter."

"It's nothing like that," Tony said, though in truth he had no idea what they were talking about. Who was Aunt Marge? Dumbledore hadn't mentioned her. Tony pushed the thought from his mind and forced himself to continue, "Homes have been found for the three of you already."

Harry's eyes narrowed. "You must have the wrong kids, then. 'Cause no one would've known to find homes for the three of us specifically."

"Is that a fact?"

The words came from behind Tony, and he turned to see that Gibbs had arrived, closely flanked by Severus.

The three boys stared up at the new men uncertainly.

"Drop the cop routine," Severus said, glaring at Gibbs. "They're taking you seriously."

Gibbs glared. "They _should_. Wandering all around London is _dangerous_."

Tony rolled his eyes. It _was _dangerous, but since the boys didn't even know who they were, he was sure the lecture was falling on deaf ears. He turned to the boys and said, "You are okay, aren't you?"

"We're _fine_," Harry said. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Anthony DiNozzo," Tony said. "This is my husband, the esteemed Leroy Jethro Gibbs, and, uh, my brother's brother-in-law, Severus Snape."

"Your brother's brother-in-law," Harry repeated.

Tony inclined his head. "And you are Harry Potter… and that makes the two of you Dudley Dursley and…"

"Liam," the little one supplied. "Liam Billows."

Dudley said, "What was that you said about finding homes for all of us?"

The three men exchanged looks. The PWAC program was hard to explain to most kids. To these children in particular, who'd had almost no experience with the magical world, it was nearly impossible. In the end, it was Severus who stepped up to the plate.

Crouching down in front of the boys, Severus looked Harry in the eyes and said, "I was a close friend of your mother's, Harry."

Harry frowned. "You were?"

Severus nodded. "When she passed, I asked if I could have custody of you, but the courts decided that you'd be better off with a blood relative. However, recent circumstances transpiring as they have, I am next in line for custody of you."

Harry took a moment to observe Severus, and then he turned to the other boys. "What about Dud and Liam?"

Tony stepped forward then. "They'll be coming to stay with Jethro and me."

Severus said, "I just adopted a son, Brinley. He's twelve. The situation being what it is, however, I think it would be unfair to him if I were to bring in three new kids right away. But Tony and Jethro live just down the road from me, so you guys would be able to see each other all the time. And that way, we can make sure all three of you are getting the attention you deserve."

Harry considered the statement for a moment, and then he shook his head. "No."

"No?" Severus said.

"It sounds great the way you're saying it," Harry said. "I'd love to get to know someone my mum was friends with. But no way I'm getting separated from Dudley and Liam."

Dudley shook his head. "Harry. It'd be fine."

"It would for _you_," Harry said. "You know all about parents who are okay blokes, and anyway, you and I are cousins. We're _supposed _to live down the road from each other. But Liam's never had decent folks, not really. The closest thing he's ever had is me, and I told him I'd be like a brother to him, and I only _just _moved in with him, and I'm not gonna move away from him now."

Liam said, "Harry…"

"No," Harry said, shooting Liam a look. "You've been helping me out ever since Dud and I moved in with you, Liam, but being a brother… It's not just about teaching you how to read, you know? It's about everything, _including _making sure you don't feel like you're being pawned off a new family all of a sudden."

Severus, Tony, and Gibbs exchanged silent looks for a moment and came to a silent agreement.

Severus nodded at Harry. "Okay. I'll take you and Liam both, and Dudley can go with Tony and Jethro. Is that okay?"

Harry swallowed. "Okay."

Severus turned to Dudley. "Son, I'd take you if I could. Do you understand that? It's not… You're not _wanting _in any way. You're just as special as Liam and Harry. There's just a limit to the number of kids I can take in at one time."

"S'okay," Dudley said. "Harry's right. I had good parents who spoiled me and treated Harry like junk. It's good that Harry's getting to be a priority this time around."

Tony shook his head and crouched down next to Dudley. "You misunderstand. You're a priority, too. _My _priority. Mine and Jethro's."

**A/N: So, this is this story complete... Let me know which character relationships/situations you're most interested in for my next story! **


	8. Chapter 8

**This chapter is for Moi, one of my Guest Reviewers (and a rather frequent one at that **** ). In answer to your most recent review, Moi: You're right, this isn't really the right place to end it, and it SHOULD feel like the beginning of something much bigger—or rather, like part of the beginning. My Parents With a Cause series is really like one large story told in snapshots, because a) I have a hard time writing sequentially, so that allows me to jump around some, and b) there's an awful lot of characters to juggle. But NEVER FEAR! Even after this chapter is finished, you will see plenty more of these characters if you care to read my other stories. And if you have particular things you'd like to see with the characters (I know, for example, that at least one person wants to learn more about Harry's safety bracelet) just PM me or write it in a review and I'll be sure to get a future story going about that. **

**Also, to the Guest who gave me 3 Bronze Stars—Thanks for the review. You're probably right that this is all over the place. It's one of the problems I had with this story, but I couldn't think of a better way to introduce Harry, Dudley, and Liam. Hopefully my subsequent stories will have better focus. **

Dumbledore arrived on scene, closely followed by DeLacey and the other ministry idiots. Severus knew that he couldn't keep Dumbledore out of the loop for long, but the last thing that he wanted right now was to carry on a conversation with the old goon, _in front of the children_, about what had transpired. Ha. Leave the old man in the dark for once—it would serve him right after the hell he'd put Severus through—and DiNozzo and Gibbs as well, Severus thought, glancing over at the two men. They were looking sadly at Liam, and he realized that in a way, the two men had just lost a son. They'd already fallen in love with Liam, without even meeting him, much in the same way Severus had fallen in love with Harry. Severus shook his head. They were better men than he was; _he _never would have given up Harry, no matter what any of the children had said. He wouldn't have been able to.

"We have to be getting back," Severus said coolly, his gaze on Dumbledore dark and challenging. "My eldest will be wondering where we've run away to."

Dumbeldore frowned. "Severus…"

Tony stepped forward then, peacekeeping as always. "We certainly want to keep you in the loop, Headmaster. Perhaps tonight after the boys have all gone to bed, we can meet up."

Severus turned his glare on the younger man. The last thing he wanted to do was leave his newly adopted children alone in the house—and he was sure that was what Tony would insist upon.

Sure enough, the next words out of the man's mouth were, "Our house, I think. After all, Severus, you have the elves to keep an eye on your lot."

His lot. The phrase was almost enough to make up for the man's presumption. Severus's upper lip curled. "Indeed."

Gibbs cleared his throat. "We'll keep it brief. All things considered, I'm sure Severus doesn't want to leave his house any more than we'd want to leave ours under the circumstances."

Severus didn't like the implication that he was behaving like a mother hen, but as the statement was true enough, he couldn't bring himself to contest it. Instead, gestured the boys towards the floo in the back and prayed it wouldn't be too hard to convince them to use it.

* * *

Zach drummed his fingers on the desktop as he looked over the chess board in front of him. Their dads had told them that chess was a pretty big deal at school—that just about everyone played it—and had encouraged them all to learn how. Zach thought it was pretty stupid himself.

"Check," Teddy said.

Zach scowled. It definitely didn't help that everyone else was better at the game than he was. Honestly, Teddy had the attention span of a gnat most of the time, and she was ace at the game. Zach figured her dad must be giving her special coaching or something. Biting his lip, Zach reached for his castle.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Brinley said quietly, looking up from the game of Mancala that he was playing with Simon.

Teddy grabbed a pillow from her bed and threw it at Brinley. "No hints, you twit!"

"That's okay," Zach said, moving the piece anyway. "I'm gonna lose anyway. Might as well be now."

Teddy rolled her eyes. "It's no fun if you give up. I mean, that may as well be a forfeit!"

Zach shrugged. He checked the clock on Teddy's desk for the trillionth time since he and Brinley had arrived. Where were their dads? How hard was it to bring their brothers home from the sub shop? After all, it wasn't like the boys could want to stay in the sub shop. It must be cold and dusty and just…ick.

"Don't be so worried," Brinley said. "I mean, I know it's your first brother, but it's not as if someone's giving birth or something. They'll be fine."

"Well," Zach said, "What do _you _think is taking them so long?"

Teddy snorted. "How thick can you get?"

Zach scowled.

"Leave him alone," Brinley said quietly. "He's never lived on the streets."

"Neither have _you_, but you get it," Teddy said.

Brinley shrugged. "I at least know what it's like to live where I'm not wanted and to not understand what's happening to me. Zach… It's just different. I mean, he already knew Uncle Tony and Uncle Jethro before he was adopted."

Zach frowned. "What's that have to do with anything?"

"Just…" Brinley frowned and pulled at the hem of his shirt. "It's just different, that's all. It would be scary to go to a new home if you _knew _for sure that you were going to people who'd been checked out by the ministry and everything. Just people you don't know are scary enough."

"But if they've been living on the street?" Teddy cocked an eyebrow. "It's probably taking your dads this long to convince your brothers they're not a couple of pedophiles."

"Dad and Papa?" Zach wrinkled his nose. "Who could ever think _that_ about _them_?"

Teddy shrugged carefully and averted her eyes. "I thought it… Not about your dads. About House and Wilson. When I first met them, I mean. I thought they might be. I'd never actually met any gay men before that, and my parents weren't exactly the understanding sort."

Brinley said, "Your dad's a lot older than your papa. Don't get me wrong, mate. I know they're fine. But from a stranger's point of view, if your dad will go twenty years younger than himself, what's to say he won't go even younger than that?"

"That's just gross!" Zach said. "And it's wrong, too. Dad worked with Papa a lots of years before he was willing to admit that he felt that way about him. He fell in love with Papa's _personality_, not his… his _body _or whatever."

"I know." Brinley laid a hand on Zach's arm. "Relax, mate. I didn't say I thought that. I was just explaining what it might be like for your brothers. They don't know your dads."

Zach sniffed.

"Oh, Jesus," Teddy said. "Don't start _crying_. Wilson'll think I did something to you, and I'll be without dessert. Again."

There was a slight cough, and Teddy whirled to see House and Wilson standing in the doorway. She flushed. "I _didn't _do anything to him, okay? I've been an angel all day. It's not my fault he's a total pansy."

Zach couldn't help but laugh. "You always act like you're so much smarter than us, and then you say something like _that_. How're your dads gonna believe you've left me alone all day when you call me names in front of them."

"In point of fact," House said, "we actually heard what the four of you were talking about, and while you could have been a bit more tactful, you…did well."

Teddy rolled her eyes. "Did that hurt coming out? Anyway, what do you mean the _four _of us? Simon hasn't said a word, _as you well know_."

"He was here," Wilson said. "He was listening. It doesn't do your brother any good for you to pretend he doesn't exist just because he chooses not to voice his opinion."

"I wasn't pretending he doesn't exist!" Teddy protested.

House shook his head. "In any case, Zach, Brinley, it's time for you to collect your things. I just got calls from your dads, and they're bringing your new brothers home just now. They want you to meet them at home."

* * *

Zach bounded into the house. "Dad! Papa! Where are you at? Where're my new brothers?"

An arm caught him around the middle, and Zach found himself swung into the air. He let out a cry of surprise, and then, seeing his Dad's face smiling down at him, he let out a laugh. "Da-aad. Lemme down!"

Gibbs put him back on his feet.

"Where are they?" Zach asked.

Gibbs frowned. He said, "Your new brother is upstairs."

Zach caught the phraseology immediately. "Brot_her_? Singular?"

Gibbs swallowed hard and nodded.

"What happened?" Zach asked.

"The little boy your Uncle Sev was adopting was quite close to one of the boys Papa and I were going to adopt," Gibbs said. "We decided it was best if Liam went to live with your Uncle Sev as well. We didn't want to separate him from Harry."

"What about my brother?" Zach said. "Isn't it hard to separate him from the other two?"

"I'm sure it will be quite a transition," Gibbs said. "So we'll have to work extra-hard to make sure he fits in here. Alright?"

Zach nodded eagerly. "I'll be the best brother ever. Is he bigger than me or littler?"

"He's older by a year," Gibbs said.

"Alright." Zach pounded up the stairs to the room they had originally set up for two boys. Just outside the door, however, he paused and collected his breath. He'd been excited to meet his new brother all day, but now that the moment had arrived, he found that he was more than a little nervous. What if his brother didn't like him?

A hand rested gently on his shoulder, and Zach looked up to see Tony standing there, smiling down at him.

"Hey, Papa," Zach said quietly.

"Hey." Tony carded a hand through Zach's hair. "You ready?"

Zach gave a hesitant nod.

Tony knocked lightly on the bedroom door before pushing it open.

Zach took a cautious step into the room and observed his new brother for the first time. Dudley was grossly fat, with greasy blond hair and small, squinty blue eyes. Zach frowned, not knowing what to think. He didn't know why, but he'd expected his new brother to be good looking. It was because he had a generally good-looking family, he supposed. In contrast, Dudley stuck out.

A gentle push between the shoulder bones had Zach taking another step into the room. He licked his lower lip and then held out a hand to Dudley. "Hello. I'm Zachary DiNozzo-Gibbs. Pleased t'meet you."

The hand that returned his shake was soft and pudgy. The pig-boy said, "Hullo. I'm Dudley Dursley."

A voice in Zach's head that sounded vaguely like Brinley said that the name suited him—he _was _a dud. As if he could hear Zach's thoughts, Dudley flushed slightly and looked down at his lap. Zach flushed too, ashamed of himself for judging the older boy. He'd just lost his parents, hadn't he? Zach forced himself to concentrate on feeling empathetic rather than judgmental.

"We set your room up real nice," Zach said. "Dad and Papa let me help pick what you might like, but if there's stuff you want changed they'll do it. And Dad's making you a trunk for school like I have—you can check out the one in my room—and if you want to pick what sorts of designs he carves into it, you can."

Dudley looked up curiously at that. He bit his lower lip, leaned close, and whispered, "Uh, which one's Dad and which one's Papa?"

Zach tried to take the question seriously, but he couldn't: he laughed. A moment later, there was a soft tap on the back of his head, a weak imitation of the patented Gibbs-slap that his Dad gave to his Papa on occasion.

Zach said, "Papa is the younger one. 'Cause he's Italian, and Papa is kind of an Italian term. And Dad's the older one. Papa's good for movies and such, and Dad can make things with his hands."

"Like trunks for school," Dudley said.

Zach nodded. "Exactly."

* * *

Flooing was terrifying, but Harry came out of it alright. Only when he'd dusted soot off of his pants and checked to make sure Liam was alright did he look around. He was in a dining room with dark walls and even darker furniture. In all honesty, it gave Harry the creeps. He was used to his aunt and uncle's house, and while the place hadn't been welcoming to Harry in the least, the colors at least had been light and unassuming.

At that moment, Severus floo'd in behind them. He brushed his pants off as well, though it wasn't lost on Harry that he'd gotten a lot less soot on himself than Harry and Liam had managed, and then he turned and smiled at them.

"Welcome to your new home," Severus said. "I hope you'll like it here."

Harry glanced at Liam, who was still gaping around the dining room as if he'd never seen anything so grand. Heck, knowing Liam, maybe he never had.

Severus cleared his throat. "Well. I'll introduce you to my eldest son, and then I'll show the two of you to your rooms."

"Rooms?" Liam asked, finally coming out of whatever stupor he was in. "You mean we're not sharing a room?"

Severus frowned. "I had intended to give you each your own room. You'll want your own space, I should think, especially in later years."

Liam shook his head. "But how do you even have two rooms ready? You didn't know I was coming."

"Ah," Severus smiled. "Well. This is a rather large house, so I have a number of guest rooms available at any given time. I'll put each of you in one of the guest rooms, and then later this week we can personalize it so it feels more special to you."

Liam fell silent then, and the two boys followed Severus out of the dining room and down the hall. He hadn't been kidding when he said it was a large house, Harry realized. They passed two different staircases as they walked down the hall, and the room Severus finally brought them into was at least four times the size of the dining room and absolutely filled with books. In the corner, slouched in an armchair, was a boy Harry judged as around his own age. The boy's hair was darker than Harry's, his skin was paler, and his jaw was angular. He didn't look up when they entered, seeming immersed in the magazine that he was reading.

"Brinley," Severus said quietly.

The boy marked his reading with a scrap of paper and stood up. He stretched his arms over his head and then glanced at Harry and Liam. "Oh. Hello. You must be Severus's newest charges."

Severus frowned. "Don't be rude to you brothers, Brinley."

Brinley's eyes snapped. "Don't call them that. They're _not _my brothers."

"Brinley!" Severus said.

Harry grabbed Liam's hand. "Uh, Liam and I will wait outside the door, okay?" He didn't wait for a response before tugging Liam into the hall with him and shutting the door.

"What'd you do that for?" Liam said. "It was just getting interesting."

Harry pressed his finger to his lips and leaned against the door frame. Liam, taking his lead, leaned against it as well.

"Brinley…" Severus's tone sounded weary. "We talked about this last night. I thought that you had agreed…"

"I said that I understood that you could call more than one person your son and not treat us unfairly," Brinley said. "I never said that I could call _anyone _my brother."

"So, what," Severus asked. "You plan to just ignore them? Pretend they're not here?"

"I put up with Zachary when I need to," Brinley said, "and Celia and Simon and Teddy. I can put up with these kids as well."

"It's not quite the same, Brinley," Severus said. "They'll be here all the time. I'd like it if you could do more than just put up with them."

"What do you want from me?" Brinley's tone sounded strained—maybe even on the verge of tears. "I can't even bring myself to call you _Dad_ yet, Severus, and Merlin knows you deserve at least that with everything you've done for me. What the hell would make you think I'd be able to call two kids I don't even know my brothers?"

Harry and Liam exchanged looks.

After a moment of stunned silence, Severus said, "Okay… Okay, Brin. Shh. It's okay."

Harry backed away from the door. He gestured for Liam to follow him. A little ways down the hall, Harry stopped and sank to the floor.

"Harry?" Liam asked, sitting down next to him.

Harry gave Liam a weak smile. "Don't worry. He can't be any more obnoxious than Dudley. At least Severus seems okay."

"Yeah," Liam said. "Alright."


End file.
